I am not a very technically inclined teenager who is looking to purchase an overprised, insanely nice looking notebook that will last him senior year and all of college, hopefully some beyond, and I would like people who know how all this tech stuff translates into how good a computer is to help me out. I’m pretty much buying this instead of a car as I already have a moped and vehicles cost too much for gas. I don't really want to hear about how alienware is a ripoff, or that all I am buying is the brand, or that I have the ability to get superior personal for cheaper. I would just like to know please which of these computers is superior and why. I would use it for mostly gaming purposes but would take it to college with me in a year and so would end up using it basically as a desktop that I can carry around with me. Money is not really a problem but keep in mind that as I’m spending a lot on this notebook I would like something that will last me a long while before becoming totally obsolete.

Here are the specs:

Personal #1:

[1] Area-51® m17x

Video/Graphics Card: Dual 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT – SLI Enabled

Display: 17″ WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p) with Clearview Technology – Black

Includes AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design!

System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Blue

Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme X9000 2.8GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)

Memory: 4GB« Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 2048MB

Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Ultimate with Service Pack 1

Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Internal Digital/Analog (ATSC) MiniCard TV Tuner with Express Card Media Center Remote Control

System Drive: Dual Drive Configuration - 1TB (500GB x 2) 5,400RPM (8MB Cache)

Smart Bay: 500GB 5,400RPM (8MB Cache) Smart Bay

Optical Drives : 2x Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc Burner (BD-R, DVD±RW, CD-RW)

Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card

Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound

Personal 2:

[1] M17

Video/Graphics Card: Dual 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870 - CrossFireX™ Enabled!

Processor: Intel® Core™2 Extreme Quad QX9300 2.53GHz (12MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)

Chassis: 17-Inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD (1200p) with Clearview Technology

Keyboard Options: Illuminated Keyboard – Alienware Exclusive Design - Astral Blue

Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1

Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Internal Digital / Analog (ATSC) TV Tuner with Adapter and ExpressCard Media Remote Control

Memory: 4GB« Dual Channel DDR3 SO-DIMM at 1066MHz – 2 x 2048MB

System Drive: Extreme Performance (RAID 0) - 1TB (500GB x 2) 5,400RPM (8MB Cache)

Optical Drives : Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW )

Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel® Ultimate N 5300 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card with MIMO Technology

The World's First 450 Mbps Wi-Fi Adapter!

Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with Surround Sound

Thanks :) If it would help to have some other specs that I didn't post, please say so and I will add them.

Answer:
Personally if you're willing to spend as much money as that you're superior off getting a netbook for your actual work at college and then purchase a current Alienware desktop for your dorm room. The extra room for upgrades is what will get it through years of college, you don't want to have to upgrade this around 2010 to support the next edition of Shader Model.

It'll last you a fair few years as a great gaming device but it'll begin to wear as the standards expand - you'll appreciate being able to spend “just” $500 on a new graphics card for a desktop when SM's updated again.

I'll be honest with you though, I'm having much more fun at university sitting on a couch with a multiplayer console game and I've not touched my gaming PC since the assingments were handed out.

Answer:
http://www.notebookera.com/

YES!

Answer:
ok well both are built for gaming not just school work so .. no need for two Graphics Card if u use one monitor that’s a wast of money for others tat read this it can help but not for what he’s looking to use it for and if u are not tech savvy i would not advocate a RAID set up.. but if i would have money for ether one … i would get the M17 it has more but i wouldn’t have a RAID set up ..
Answer:
IN LOPTOPS.CHOSE THE ONE THAT YOU CAN AFFORD. BECAUSE IF YOU CHOOSE THE GREATER PRICE IT WILL BE LAST 1OR 2 WEEKS. AND REMEMBER BUY A LOPTOP THAT IS MADE FROM PHILIPHINES. BE INTERESTED TO THE WORK OF YOUR COUNTRIE.DONT BUY IMPORTED
Answer:
Those things will both be obsolete in 2 years and you won't be able to upgrade them without spending way more money. The first one is the better one of the two because of the better video cards. The second one will suck WAY too much power with a quad core. That has no place being in a laptop. But just know that you'll get about 45mins of battery life away from a wall outlet on IDLE. Anticipate gaming battery life to be 20 mins or so with 2 video cards in a laptop. It's not exactly portable either with a 17 inch screen. Probably weighs over 10 pounds too.

It for sure won't last you all the way through college, and people will make fun of you for lugging such a massive, overpriced lappy around.

Gas is cheap now too. Just filled up for $28 on the nose, and a car is a much better investment that won't lose pretty much all it's value in a very short period of time.

But hey it's your call, i'd just go with a better company, like Sager Notebook if you want to spend that much, and not with Dell.

Answer:
Food for Thought

Always work out what your needs are and buy a laptop to suit.

Choosing a laptop

=============

Laptops are excellent for running a second screen.

So please consider this

Two screens are a lot of fun. Assignment on one, world wide web, research on the other. Game on one, messenger on other.

I suggest to purchase the laptop to suit your travelling needs, and have a second 19 inch screen at main base to plug into.

If you moving the laptop each day, so that you plugging into the main base every day, I suggest to set up a docking station complete with usb mouse and usb keyboard, and of course the second screen.

The docking station sets the laptop at a 45 degree angle so its keyboard is 45 degrees and you hinge open the lid so its vertical.

If you have 19 inch on its own stand, then the top of the laptop is the same height as the top of the 19 inch..

Now you can purchase the second screen and docking station later on, and the docking station isn’t really necessary for home use, but for office use its ideal practice, so ensure you get a brand that has this available, if you think you need it.

You have to decide on weight and battery criteria.

1. Weight - If you are going to carry it to and fro to school/office then consider getting a lightweight model. An external CD drive may be an option as if you not into burning disks or watching DVD then you hardly use the CD drive. Something about less than 2 kg is a lightweight. Anything over 2 kg is very heavy to carry.

2. Battery Life, - if you never going to use it on batteries then you can go larger processor and larger screen. You can consider not buying the battery if appropriate. You can have two power supplies; one at home and one in the office is good for large heavy laptops.

If you want to use the laptop on batteries then you may have to select a smaller processor and a smaller screen so you can get the hours required out of the battery.

3. Minimum specifications –

Games will require more specifications – more ram and –more video card specs – more processor power.

Generally though:

-a decent video card (for projection of power point presentations)

-Wireless networking

-Ethernet

-Consider a high speed hard drive

- Consider 120GB Hard drive or bigger

- Think about an external DVD drive or an Internal Burner -depending on your needs

-Consider 1 Gig RAM for XP or 2 Gig RAM for Vista

-Software able to update from their websites

-Internet security and

-Antispyware (free from net) is a must for world wide web use.

-Easy accessible USB ports

- built in webcam /mic

- A Mouse - wireless mouse are a pain, get a small usb mouse.

- a keystone lock

-A carry bag. Sometimes the manufacturer’s bag is the ideal buy

Consider getting the hard drive partitioned to C: and D: The C drive can be 30 gig for a laptop D drive is extended across the remaining.

Good buying: I advocate to purchase from a discount store that can offer extended warranty, which you might pay for. If you do this make sure all the ram is in so it is covered by the warranty. Extended warranty will cover it for 3 years, and a lot of laptops do go wrong. The store should do the following

1. add the ram

2. install the software

3 partition the hdd

4 Ensure the hdd is NTFS file system